Ah. That was fun, quick and just sharp enough for a bit of a mad grin.

From a more thoughtful perspective the contrast between types of intelligence (loner scientist, industrialist, military) crossed up with types of post-humanity (external, physical bio-mod, mental bio-mod) was a nice structure. Should be a nice treat for anyone who digs the films and wanders into a book store trade section wanting something just like what was on the screen. I can't see anything here that would confuse from the narratives they are about to present in the movies, and I recall that was the goal here.

I don't know why they gave Loeb Ultimates. I talked to strangers in the shop today about how much remarkably better Ultimate Human was than that Red Hulk thing. I liked this miniseries, but there are a few things I would have liked to see happen. It just seemed too short, which I guess is a good thing. It would have been fun to see that bad guy really fuck some shit up and die a little more horrifically.And the end is wild! Hulk just... IS Hulk forever now? And he's adapting?! Madness. Warren style.

I picked up this series, and I thought it was really cool, really smart, and really fun, just like how I imagine a good summer blockbuster should be.

If you're a fan of the Ultimates then this is a nice alternative to Jeph Loeb's lead-in to Ultimatum. Mr. Ellis, you nailed the characterizations of these guys with everything from Bruce Banner's instant understanding of Tony Stark's experiment process in the first issue to Stark's sad realization of having to use the term "Big Head Guy" in the last. Every time I've seen you write for the Ultimate line, and most anything else of your work-for-hire stuff, it's like you find the exact voice that the characters should have(i.e. Ultimate Fantastic Four). It's a nice guarantee that I will rarely be disappointed, and I thank you for that.

I'm sure it will do well in trade with the Iron Man and Hulk movies coming out this summer (which I heard was a big part of why this series was done), but not just because of them, and that's fine. I'm sure it will cause Mr. Ellis to pick up more fans who are of the "Who the hell is this guy and what else has he written" variety too. It never ceases to amaze me how much better his work-for-hire stuff is than some other writers' works of passion.

By now I think we can use "very Ellis" and understand it as a compliment. This, indeed, is very Ellis. (I had some strange idea that WE was involved in Iron Man (movie). At the very least, based on the trailer, it FEELS like he's involved.)

Noticed one thing - a lot of these villains (big head guy, Tyrannosaurus, the superhero who was found with midgets) are starting to read the same for me. Granted, in the world of "what makes someone decide to be a super-villain" there are probably not many categories. But with the Tyrannosaurus especially it started to feel like the Ben Stiller with Genghis Khan therapy chat in Night at the Museum, a thoroughly squirm-inducing piece of pyschobabble where it turns out Genghis just needed a hug.